Chapter Text
The next day was the usual for Vence. He woke up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and went out to the training grounds to meet his mentor, Sir Pinnec.
He was in the middle of a sparring session when his morning routine was interrupted. A royal knight entered the courtyard and, with his back straight and head held high, he walked right up to both of them and stopped their sparring with a booming voice.
"Sir Vence! Your presence is requested by Their Majesties. Accept this writ of summons at once!" he then pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to Vence.
Vence nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing his voice. Royal knights are VERY intimidating, but it makes sense since they guard the castle. One would naturally expect royal security to scare a baby into silence if needed. Vence put down the wooden practice sword and calmly took the paper. It was a folded-up letter with a red wax seal of the Rito emblem. Pinnec looked over his shoulder, and his eyebrows shot up.
"A red seal means it's urgent. Best open it."
Vence nodded and opened the letter to read the summons:
By order of Their Majesties of the Vogler Royal Family, Sir Vence Gavilán is formally summoned for an immediate audience in the Throne Room.
Arrive anon.
Vence's eyes went wide as he lifted his head to look at the royal guard, but all he found was space; he had left long ago.
An immediate audience? Is he in trouble? He started to get nervous and began running through his memories, imagining what he could be in trouble for, but he was pulled from his thoughts by his mentor nudging him forward.
"Well!? What are you waiting for!? Get out of here and get yourself ready. You know how to get to the throne room, right?'
Vence stammered.
"N-No, I don't think so."
Pinnec opened his mouth but then waved a hand dismissively.
"It's fine. They'll probably have a guard to escort you there anyway. Just show them the letter, and they'll take you there. Now go!"
Vence nodded and turned around to leave. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he scrambled to put on his official armor and make himself look presentable.
~~~~
Vence has never felt so out of place. He only remembered the place from the vague memories of his childhood. After all, it was his friend who took most of his attention. He did his best to stay confident in front of the guard when he showed his summons, but he'd be lying if he said they didn't make him feel quite small. The castle wasn't huge, but by the goddesses did it feel immense with those intense gazes. The guards led him to the throne room without saying a word, and before he could walk through the doors, one of them stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. A shiver ran up his spine at the contact, and he froze in place as he heard someone announce from inside: "YOUR MAJESTIES, THE HONORABLE SIR VENCE GAVILÁN."
As soon as he was announced, the door was opened by two guards on the other side, revealing the King and Queen upon their thrones. Vence drew in a breath and straightened his back, holding his helmet at his side as he strode in with as much confidence as he could muster.
When Vence got to the altar and knelt on one knee, the king spoke.
"Good morrow, Sir Vence. You have been summoned here on account of your success in retrieving the prince yesterday."
Vence blushed a little at hearing such praise from the king.
"You needn't thank me, Your Majesty. It was my duty."
The king hummed in acknowledgement at his response, his mind clearly elsewhere. He spoke with a tone that sounded like he just wanted to get this over with, like he didn't want to be here any more than he needed to.
"Yes, yes, indeed.”
The king paused, thinking about his next words
”You have been summoned here because you are being offered a proposition to be the personal guard of Prince Raphica."
Vence jerked his head up to look at them in shock, but the king remained firm in his statement. Vence cleared his throat as he returned his gaze to the floor.
“Your Majesties, if I may, I have only been freshly knighted. Prince Raphica is a highly skilled combatant, far better than I. Perhaps Sir Pinnec would be better suited for such a duty. Forgive me for questioning your judgment.”
The King nodded in acknowledgment, not insulted by the question, much to Vence's surprise.
“Raphica is quite the skilled fighter and is indeed capable of protecting himself. However, his ability to be in control of his impulses is... questionable."
The king had to pause before saying the last word, with a light dust of pink going across his face in clear embarrassment of having to admit it. Luckily, Vence had been facing the ground when it happened.
"We have been doing everything in our power to fix this… issue… You are the only knight we have ever seen successfully bring him home with no resistance. All that we ask is you… keep an eye on him. He will soon set out to court princesses from the other kingdoms to wed, and his behaviour must be put under control. We are at risk of losing face if this continues. We expect that you honor your knight’s code, and you will be given the privilege to enter into the dwellings that our son allows you to. These are our only rules. Follow them, and you will be paid accordingly. Disobedience will result in swift punishment. Do you accept?”
Vence couldn't believe what he was hearing. To think he was JUST mourning not being able to spend time with him, and here he is being offered a job where he gets to spend all day with the prince!? Vence caught himself before he started taking too long to respond. It was rude to ignore the king.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty. Of course. I accept."
"Wonderful, then." The king clapped his hands.
"Guards! Follow Sir Vence to his quarters and move them into one of the servants' chambers at once!”
He made a vague gesture to Vence. "You are dismissed."
~~~~~
Vence was almost in a trance as he moved from his barracks to a room in the castle. He told Pinnec about the appointment, and his mentor was very excited for him. Pinnec knew that Vence and Raphica played together as children, and he was happy to see that they would be spending time together again. Pinnec reminisced about how the two of them cried when Vence had to go away for his training as a squire, much to Vence’s embarrassment. But now, here he is. Back in the castle. Here to stay (hopefully).
It didn't take long to move his things from the knight's quarters to his new room in the castle (he didn't have much anyway). It wasn't very big or grandiose, but it was nice, and he got his own room; it was certainly better than the barracks. He wonders what Pinnec would think.
After settling in, there came a knock at his door. Opening it, he was greeted by a butler who gave a polite bow upon seeing him.
“Good morrow, Sir Vence. I have come to introduce you to the prince. Are you situated? Do excuse me if I am too early.”
Vence shook his head.
”Oh, no worries, Mister. I just finished settling in. Allow me to grab my equipment, and I will follow your lead.”
He nodded and smiled at him as he turned to reequip his sword and shield. Once he got everything on, he met him outside his room and allowed him to escort him to the prince’s quarters.
~~~~~
The people of the Rito kingdom were never one for grandiosity, so their castle was relatively small compared to the Zora or Hylian kingdoms. However, what they lacked in size, they made up for in security detail. Even knowing that he had full permission to be there, Vence was still intimidated by the sheer number of guards. He felt like everyone he passed judged him with a steely gaze, searching for the slightest indication of malicious intent.
Luckily, heading to the prince’s room was but a short walk, and it was only about a few minutes until he was standing behind the butler, knocking at the prince’s door.
”Are you decent, Your Highness?”
Raphica’s voice came from behind the door.
”Yes. You may enter.”
The butler opened the door, and Vence was greeted by a freshly showered Raphica in the most casual of casual clothes. His hair was still damp, and he had on a sleeveless undershirt that displayed his arm muscles while a pair of loose-fitting pants hung low around his waist. What the hell? Raphica was wearing commoners’ clothes. Vence felt his face heat up. Was he allowed to see the crown prince like this?
Raphica’s eyebrows shot up, and he smiled when he laid his eyes on Vence.
”Oh, hey! It's you! What’s up?”
The butler cleared his throat loudly after Raphica’s casual greeting.
“Your Highness, this is your newly assigned personal knight. He will be accompanying you whenever you wish to leave the castle.”
Raphica sat down on his bed and leaned back, giving the butler a puzzled look.
”A personal knight? I think I can defend myself just fine. No offense.”
He gave Vence an apologetic look when he said the last sentence, and Vence waved his hand dismissively to show he wasn’t offended. The butler continued.
“He is not here for only protection; he is also here to accompany you wherever you go, should you leave the castle.”
Raphica hummed in acknowledgment and leaned back while looking Vence up and down, pausing before making a gesture in his direction.
“Alright then. What’s your name?”
Before Vence could open his mouth, the butler interrupted him.
“His name is not needed. He will simply follow you around. He is not here for acquaintanceship.”
Raphica let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes, clearly irritated by the response. Is this kind of thing… normal around here? Vence sure hoped not. He couldn’t imagine what it'd be like to not be able to fraternize with the people you meet. The young prince waved in the butler's direction.
”Alrighty then. You’re dismissed.”
The butler nodded and began to leave the room, and Vence turned around to leave with him.
”No, no. Not you, my knight. You stay.”
Vence felt himself blush again at hearing ‘my knight’, but he did what he was told. He stopped in place and turned around to look at Raphica. The butler did the same, but Raphica frowned and made a light shooing motion with his hand.
”I just want him here. You can go.”
The butler seemed like he was about to protest, but he stopped and simply took a polite bow before leaving the two of them alone.